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Aged care at a turning point: why technology-enabled care must sit at the heart of New Zealand’s reform

by: Abby Moore, CEO, Chiptech

Coming out of Health Infomatics New Zealand Digtal Health Week 2025 (HiNZ), one theme has stayed with me – that our aged care system is changing whether we are ready or not.

On one side, we have an ambitious 10-year Health Digital Investment Plan and a new Centre for Digital Modernisation of Health, signalling serious intent to fix fragmented, outdated digital infrastructure. On the other, Government has announced a full overhaul of aged care funding, backed by substantial analytical work on current service models and their shortcomings. Together, these moves are reshaping what it will mean to grow older in Aotearoa, particularly for those who want to remain in their own homes and communities for as long as possible.

For organisations like Chiptech, and for the New Zealand providers we work alongside, the question is no longer if change is coming, but how we’ll use it to deliver better outcomes for older people, whānau, and staff.

Shilvana Shaikh and Abby Moore at Digital Health Week 2025

A system that wasn't built around real lives


Listening to speakers and reflecting on the recent reviews of aged care services and funding, the same issues keep surfacing:

  • Services are still funded and delivered in silos – primary care, home support, community services, aged residential care, and hospitals each operating to their own rules and data sets.
  • Funding models have not kept pace with what older people actually want and need, which is to maintain independence, stay connected to their communities, and have care wrapped around them when they need it, not just when they meet a particular eligibility threshold.
  • Workforce shortages are hitting every part of the system, particularly in regional and rural areas – and they are not going away.
  • Māori, Pacific, and other communities face clear inequities in access to appropriate, timely support.
  • Aged care is still too often treated as something separate from the rest of the health system, instead of a critical part of how we prevent hospital admissions, support safe discharge, and enable dignified end-of-life care.

The Sapere reviews for Te Whatu Ora are very clear that increasing funding alone won’t fix this. The system itself needs to be redesigned around pathways that support people to live at their desired level of independence, with flexible combinations of support that evolve over time – in the home, in the community, and in residential settings when required.

That is exactly where technology-enabled care (TEC) and personal emergency response systems come in.

 

Reframing technology-enabled care

Too often, technology-enabled care is still seen as ‘a pendant’, ‘a base unit’, or ‘a handy extra’ that can be bolted on to existing services.
At Chiptech, we see it very differently.
Our experience with New Zealand and international providers has shown that when TEC is deployed as infrastructure, not as a stand-alone product, it does three important jobs:

1. Extends safe independence
Linked devices, sensors, and medication support devices help older people live safely at home, with the confidence that help is available at the touch of a button, after a fall, or when a pattern of behaviour changes. This is true whether someone is in social housing, living rurally, or in a retirement village.

2. Guides where precious workforce effort goes
Activity and alert data can show who is stable, who might need a check-in, and who is at high risk if nothing changes. That allows providers to target in-person visits and clinical input more intelligently, instead of relying solely on time-based rosters or waiting for a crisis.

3. Creates the data we need to fund what works
Time-stamped, objective TEC data on falls, call patterns, medication adherence, and more, provides the evidence needed to design and justify new funding models that reward prevention, early intervention and safe ageing in place.

In other words, TEC is not just about responding when someone presses a button. It is a lens for seeing risk sooner, a multiplier for stretched workforce, and a source of proof that new models of care are delivering what they promised. 

SEVEN and Adi Pill Dispenser in the home which can be used for medication management to help prevent falls for seniors
Pivotell Pill Dispenser

Aligning with the new direction of travel

The Government’s move to establish a Ministerial Advisory Group on aged care, review funding models, and explicitly focus on ‘the right type of care in the right place’ is encouraging. The associated work on the future of ageing well, service models, and funding gives us a shared evidence base to work from.
At the same time, the 10-year digital plan, with its focus on a single electronic medical record, modern infrastructure, remote monitoring, and better data flows provides the backbone that integrated aged care has been missing.
Where these two streams meet, there is a clear opening for TEC to be treated as part of core health and social infrastructure, rather than a discretionary add-on.

Examples include:

Falls and frailty
Falls remain a leading reason for emergency department presentations, loss of confidence and early transition into higher-level care. TEC solutions that combine pendants, automatic fall detection, activity monitoring, and lighting can support proactive falls prevention programmes, timely response when incidents occur, and structured follow-up. This is directly aligned with the health system’s objectives to reduce avoidable hospitalisations and support safer discharge.

Medication support
There is a wealth of evidence that missed or incorrect medication contributes to confusion, instability, and health deterioration. Smart dispensers, reminders, and monitoring can significantly reduce this risk, particularly for people with complex regimens or early cognitive change.

Post-discharge and step-down care
TEC can support short-term, intensive packages following a hospital stay, enabling people to return home sooner, with a virtual “safety net” for both the person and the clinical team overseeing their recovery.

Supporting unpaid carers and whānau
For many families, technology can provide reassurance that their loved one is OK without constant in-person checking, which is particularly important where whānau live at a distance or juggle work and caring responsibilities.

These are not theoretical benefits. They are stories we see every day in the lives of people connected to Chiptech systems.

What this means for providers in Aotearoa


For New Zealand service providers, from home and community support through to aged residential care, the reform agenda creates both pressure and opportunity.

Pressure, because expectations are rising around outcomes, equity, digital maturity, and workforce productivity. Data will increasingly be used to compare models of care and determine what is funded.
Opportunity, because providers who can demonstrate that they are using technology to keep people safely at home, reduce avoidable hospital use, and support staff to work at the top of their scope will be well-placed to influence and benefit from new funding models.

We see four practical areas where providers can start now:

1. Reframing TEC in your own strategy
Treat TEC and personal emergency response systems as part of your core service model, not just an add-on. Ask:

  • Where can TEC help us safely reduce low-value face-to-face visits?
  • How can it support our falls, frailty, and medication strategies?
  • How will we measure impact over time?

2. Building your evidence base
Use the data already available from TEC deployments to understand patterns of demand, risk, and response. Even simple analysis of who calls, when, why, and what happens next can provide powerful insights for service redesign and future funding discussions.

3. Preparing for interoperability
As the digital investment plan rolls out, the ability to integrate TEC data with wider clinical systems will matter more. Providers can start planning for that now, by clarifying what information they need from TEC platforms, and what information they may need to feed back.

4. Contributing to the policy conversation
Sector bodies and individual providers will have opportunities to contribute to the aged care review process. Including TEC and personal emergency response systems in your submissions, along with concrete examples and data, will help ensure these tools are recognised and supported in future funding models.

Chiptech's role: partnering for better outcomes

Chiptech has always been focused on enabling people to live safely and independently, as well as supporting the organisations who walk alongside them. In this new environment, that means:

  • Continuing to evolve our products and platforms so they are ready for a more integrated, data-driven health and care system
  • Working with providers to design packages of care that combine devices, monitoring, and human support in ways that make sense for local communities
  • Using our experience and data, from here and overseas, to contribute constructively to the national conversation on aged care reform.

Reform on this scale can feel daunting. But it is also a rare chance to reshape aged care around what matters most: dignity, independence, safety, and connection.
Technology-enabled care is not the whole answer. But without it, it will be very hard to deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time, for the people who have spent a lifetime contributing to Aotearoa.

Chiptech is ready to play our part, partnering with providers, policymakers, and communities to make sure we don’t waste this moment.

– End

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